Posts tagged Webseries

How many times have I averred on my own blog that the Internet is the TV of the future? Our Nerd Lord and Master Chris Hardwick has given similar advice to young folks on the Nerdist podcast: just do it. Nike knows what they’re doing with their slogan. Well my friends, the future is here, now.

Checked Out is a new webseries that is some of the best TV I have ever seen. It centers around a couple of slackers (and some of their co-workers) as they interact in the dingy-looking break room of a grocery store. Our main character actually looks as though he never leaves the break room (and probably doesn’t, judging from dialogue in later episodes). It’s stellar sketch comedy, in that it takes place in just that one little room, and all the hilarity and tension is all about the characters. We are introduced to the characters in Episode 1, and it only gets weirder and funnier as the episodes progress. Who knew customer service was so soul-sucking and weird? Actually *all* of us who have ever worked in customer service know…

Here’s why:
1) It’s hilarious.
2) It is extremely well acted. By this I mean: the actors are all playing objectives, strongly, with no vestige of ironic postmodern winking at the audience. Every performance is earnest, precise, and gorgeous. I have a BFA in acting, I know what I’m talking about.
3) The characters! The one particular character flaw that made me laugh every time it appeared was the fact that the assistant manager is afraid of cardboard. I mean… What??! But it’s brilliant, and Mr. Gupta plays it so perfectly, I can’t. I just can’t. Watch it.
4) Look, I am running out of things to say. This is a wonderfully funny, extremely well done web series that you all must go watch, now. Below, embedded, is why.
5) I was going to bring this up as a negative, but now I think of it, it isn’t. Here’s my observation: Vicki Lewis’ character in this web series is exactly like her character Beth from Newsradio. But you know what? I can see that after that radio station closed, Beth may have had to get a job in a grocery store. So…it fits.

Bottom Line: This is your next comedy to watch regularly. Do it.

Okay, look: the stars of Checked Out are all recognizable from various other things. I’m not even going to bring their other credentials up. You know why? Because this is so awesome in its own right. You can see where you know them from online. All I am going to say is that it’s worth watching. More than that–I encourage you to watch. That is all.

A little over two months ago I was asked to review a relatively new web series that had recently finished its first season run. Yes. Two months ago. Sorry about that Swoots. Normally I relish the challenge of watching and analyzing a show oriented around the supernatural, especially one that has the casting coup of everyone’s favorite Angel/God, Misha Collins. Yet in this case, something was keeping me from feeling the urge to devour the episodes, as I would, say, with a new season of the Guild.

I finally figured out what it was and can thankfully say: don’t do as I did. Fire up your browser and tear your way through the six episodes on offer until season two rolls around.

Divine: The Series was written by Ivan Hayden (visual effects supervisor on Supernatural) and Kirk Jacques, directed by Hayden, and created and produced by Hayden, Jacques, Collins, and Jason Fischer (production coordinator on Supernatural).

The story follows the travails of three priests in a run-down mission on the wrong side of the tracks, who endeavor to care for a being (angel? miracle?) named Divine, who walks the streets protecting the innocent (and penitent) from the demonic creatures who threaten humanity. The narrative employs a modernist (and post-modernist) conceit of non-linear storytelling, dropping the viewer in the midst of a plot stream, with few clear indicators throughout the series as to the chronological orientation of each episode. Hayden, in one of the making of videos, asserts that time is of no consequence, with each episode dropping more clues about who these people are, what brought them to this religious outpost, and what the mission of the divine creature really entails.

Misha Collins as Father Christopher

Before I detail the things the series does well, let me first tackle that which kept me procrastinating the task at hand. The series is incredibly smart to drop Misha Collins into the first episode, ensuring that the rabid Castiel/Supernatural fan base will be hooked from the outset. It is unfortunately in this initial episode that the miscast character of Jin first appears. Actress Chasty Ballesteros sets the mood as the episode’s first speaker and it is so tonally ill judged that if it wasn’t for the presence of Collins you might be tempted to simply leave at the outset. The typical Jin line delivery is to scream, and said delivery is so wooden, for a character that seems such a cliché, that it takes a monumental effort to get past it and to keep watching. I am loath to call out just one person as the primary problem with a show, but every time Ballesteros is on-screen the story withers. Even the scenery chewing character of Jack in episode 2 can’t steal her crown. What makes it all the worse is that, for the most part, she is surrounded by people who can act, which makes the character stand out in ways that it simply wasn’t meant to.

However, there are enough things done well in the series that you shouldn’t let Jin keep you from watching. Granted, it took me two months to reach that point.

The visual effects are rather stunning for a web series, especially in episode two. It’s not at all surprising to discover that many of the cast and crew have worked on Supernatural because this series feels like an offshoot of that. Hayden has said that he wanted the series to feel like a graphic novel and it does – the atmosphere, the characters, the narrative could all easily grace the pages of a comic book that explores demons and divinity.

Ben Hollingsworth as Father Andrew

The three actors who play the priests (Misha Collins, Allen Sawkins, and Ben Hollingsworth) are the strongest of the ensemble and ensure that the episodes tie together in a way that keeps audience interest. In fact, I would argue that Hollingsworth’s arrival in episode three, as Father Andrew, is the moment that the storyline becomes more than supernatural special effects and actually begins to explore the mythology and purpose behind the show. It was episode three that changed my mind about the series and led me to watch the rest posthaste.

However, season one is not going to tie things together in a neat bow – if you’re looking for answers you’re going to need to wait for season two. Season one delivers many mysteries, which are augmented by the non-linear approach to storytelling. It’s a bold move, spending a season of episodes establishing a foundation, unsure of what will happen with the viewership, but I guess that’s a benefit to a web series – you’re not tied to a network and its rating requirements.

So my overall verdict: definitely watchable, if you can get past the initial acting hitch at the outset. If you’re not convinced by the first two episodes, hang in there for episode three and the narrative development. The special effects are fantastic, as is the music, and if you can get hooked by the storyline, then you’ll look forward to the next season.

There’s a new mockumentary on the web and it involves zombies. Zombie Hunter follows Nathan Greene as he attempts to show his abilities when up against zombies in the wild. Along the way, he takes time to advertise zombie repellants so that you, too, can become a hunter just like him. The episodes run around 3-6 minutes each, so it’s not a big time commitment. And if the website’s design doesn’t please you, you can access all the episodes on YouTube.

This is a fun, backyard project. It’s not as professionally done as many web series offerings, so please be aware of that going in. The sound drops out frequently, the lighting is bad, and the editing is rough. I understand why the scripts are written in the language that they are, considering Nathan and company appear to be the stereotypes of rednecks, but I found the episodes themselves to not be very smooth in conveying that goal. That may be because of its coupling with the acting, which seems to be more at a beginner than a professional web series level. I’m not sure how much experience the creators have, or whether this is indeed Dedman Productions’ first full length production, so I’ll assume it’s a first-offering from a budding group of actors and directors. If the series is recut and re-edited to become more professional, I’d suggest working on the opening because I found it to be repetitive by taking cuts of the first episode and leading into the credits. I think it would be more accessible to just start the episodes with the credit and then lead into the new content. Even at three minutes apiece, the repetition began to wear on me. However, for a first offering of zombie storytelling, the series is inventive.

If you’re a fan of zombies, and are aware of the caveats mentioned, be sure to check out Zombie Hunter. I’m interested to see where Dedman Productions goes in a couple of years. The creativity is certainly evident, which could lead to bigger and better things.

Home at Last is a new web series that has yet to premiere. However, the lead-up has got fans buzzing. You might recognize some of the cast, since they’re very recognizable from other projects. William Russ, who plays the father and is also the co-producer, is best known for his role on Boy Meets World. Mike Bash, another co-producer who plays the son, was a series regular on the show Common Avenue. Lisa Kellerman, who plays Kim, has been a series regular on both the Pushing Twilight series, as well as the series Six Figures.

The premise is simple. Mike’s father is homeless, so like a good son he invites dear old dad to come stay with him. That’s when the trouble begins. Mike’s roommate isn’t on board with the plan, and neither are his other friends and loved ones, but what may seem like a bad idea is fodder for a comedic good time for audiences.

You can see the series trailer on their website and it’s evident even from that short clip that the project has professional editing and acting going for it. Each episode will span 4-6 minutes and air every other week for six episodes. That means three months of fun for viewers, interspersed with other behind the scenes videos. Stay tuned for the series!

Guest Post/Interview conducted by Chelsee Yee. Yee is a marketing intern with Overturn. She is a sophomore at Seattle University majoring in Journalism, with an additional interest in Criminal Justice. She enjoys reading Stephen King novels and watching horror flicks on the weekends.

Chelsee Yee: How do you manage playing the multi-role of being the director, producer, actor,
screenwriter, and composer for Overturn? It seems like a difficult and stressful task to
accomplish. Do you have a secret to facing this challenge?

John Deryl: There is no secret. But there is something very important. It is a real passion. My passion is to
make Overturn a high quality project. That is why I do so many different jobs. Every day I face
many challenges, but I know that eventually I will win because only I can limit myself. Other
people, no matter what they say or think, do not really influence my decisions. I do not like to
waste time on something cheap or trivial, and being the leading actor, screenwriter, director,
producer, and composer helps me control every aspect of the series and make sure that it
satisfies my demands for high quality.

CY: What can fans expect from Season 2? How does it compare to Season 1? How many
more seasons will Overturn run for?

JD: Overturn is unpredictable. There will be many surprises in Season 2. Undoubtedly, fans will
feel the same captivating atmosphere from Season 1, but in the new season, Overturn changes
dramatically. New characters, unexpected plot turns, beautiful fighting scenes and much
more will absorb them deeper into the world of our story. As for the number of seasons, I can’t
tell you exactly how many of them we will create. But I can say that the concept of Overturn is
so global that the series will have a multitude of subsequent seasons.

CY: Overturn holds the title of being “the first international sci-fi mystery web series.” Do
you plan on using other languages or subtitles in your show?

JD: Yes, our show is unique for having a cast and crew from different countries. We are using
other languages in it as well. For example, in the first season, Philippa Peter who plays Lisha,
spoke some phrases in one of the Nigerian languages. In Season 2, our audience will hear
Russian. Of course, we are planning to dub the show in other languages. We currently have
subtitles available for the audience. By the way, our fans help us a lot. They volunteer their
time to translate subtitles into their own languages, so that people of their countries can
watch the show on our website.

CY: As the cast and crew are all representatives of different countries, have their been any
language barriers or obstacles on set?

JD: Good question! There have been many quite amusing situations. A big part of our crew
is Russian speaking since we are filming in Ukraine, but many of our actors do not speak
Russian. Sometimes they cannot understand each other, but eventually, somehow they are
able to cooperate and listen to each other. By the way, I can open a big secret! One of our
leading actors, Konstantin Gerasimuk who plays the Servant, is Ukrainian. He does not know
English at all, but in the second season, you will see many scenes where he does speak English.
It is not a voice-over! Our crew is amazed! We translate his lines into Russian. He understands
their meaning, memorizes English lines and without knowing the language speaks them. He
looks like a person who knows English! It is magic!

CY: How did you come up with Christopher Gabriel’s character? Do you relate to him in
many ways? How would you overcome the fear he faces?

JD: I look at Christopher as a part of the story. He is deeply connected with everything in the
world of Overturn. As the show goes forward, the audience will realize how logical his life is
in the context of the story. I can understand his feelings of being not apt to this society. He is
deeply honest and vulnerable, but in this society people like him suffer because of the lie and
cold they see everywhere. Ordinary people use those things to protect themselves, but he is
far from being ordinary, so he cannot do the same thing. He is a mystery to others because
his inner world is very rich. On the other hand, he really has his inner fears which have deep
roots. I would say you cannot overcome your fears, but you can use them. By that, I mean you
have to face your fears. There is no other way.

CY: The caption for the show is, “His dreams are the key to the answer.” Do answers usually
come to you in dreams? How much trust and dependence can we really have with our
dreams?

JD: Sometimes answers or at least clues come to me in dreams. It does not happen very often, but
when it does, I am glad. As for trust and dependence, I think everyone has to decide on their
own.

CY: Are there any other side projects that you are participating in? If not, do you plan on
creating another web series?

JD: Currently, Overturn is my only project, but I have done other things in the past as well. Those
have been parts on film, TV, and stage. I am not planning on creating another web series right
now, but I am always open to well-developed, high quality projects.

CY: What has been the best experience so far in filming Overturn?

JD: I think the best experience happened last Tuesday when we were shooting in Feofania Park.
It is one of the many beautiful places in Kiev, the city where we are filming Overturn. The
atmosphere of the place was so calm and different from that of the city. There was no wind
and everything was foggy, so the whole crew felt like they were in another world. It was a
magical place and magical moment, and we filmed two charming scenes. Those kinds of
moments make you want to keep going no matter what!

Oblivion is, unlike most web series, a full-length show with each episode logging in around 22 minutes. This plays well for it in certain situations, but is a bit detrimental in others. Created by Mike Cuenca, the series is meant to be a spin-off of his film Scenes from Oblivion. I have not seen the movie, so I wanted to make sure the series could be picked up as an independent project with no reliance on the former. I’m not quite sure it achieves that feat.

The series is meant to shed light on a group of rockers, punks, and mods in the city of Holwenstall. While the summary held great promise, there were noted situations where I as an audience member was totally lost. Certain characters seem to be from the 60s, but the exterior shots place the series in current times. So, are the characters out of place or the environment? And with 14 main characters, the storyline is extremely hard to follow without cheat notes.

I found the voiceover scenes, which summarized the characters, to be very well-done. The editing was stellar in these instances and the artistic quality set them apart from typical web series fare. However, the live-action acting scenes were very rough and detracted from the storyline. I felt like I was being thrown into the deep end and expected to swim with no help of easing me into whatever the story might be.

The cast list for the series contain virtual unknowns, but there were a few stand-outs. Sara Camille Riviello as Fay plays the rocker type very well. Jennifer Higgins as Louise plays a character that feels much older than mid-30s, but it also makes her stand out. And Rachel Castillo as Joy does well with the oblivion of drug abuse and deadbeat partners.

Oblivion has the potential to be great once the rough spots get ironed out. If you want to give the series a try, head over to their web site where you can watch six episodes and a Halloween special. There’s also four podcasts to download, promos to watch, and publicity stills to see.

Ever wonder what it would be like if you lived a world where role-playing adventures were real? Where people actually had job titles like Barbarian, Bard, Fighter, Wizard and Druid? Now imagine your adventuring party were made up of real people with serious issues. Where your wizard gets in trouble with a demon debt-collector because he defaulted on his magic school loans or your bard is a whiny rich-kid who cowers in fear during a battle. The creators of the webseries, Walking In Circles: An Epic Tale about Dragons N’ Stuff, have created a hilarious new series of adventures bringing to life just such a world.

The mockumentary series follows the misadventures of a newly-formed adventuring party led by the Barbarian Krag, played by the handsome Eric Radic and looking a bit like a grown-up Atreyu from The Neverending Story. Krag put together his party while drunk in a pub one night and discovers that his new comrades aren’t really great at what they do and he neglected to hire anyone who could guide them, hence their group motto, ‘walking in circles’.

This motley crew is made up of a surfer-dude Barbarian, a Ditsy blond Druid, a sarcastic and bitter Wizard, a spoiled and cowardly Bard, and the silent and homicidal Fighter. They’re all pretty bad at their jobs in one way or another, but this all makes for plenty of entertainment for the audience. During the first battle, Garand, the whimsical rich-boy Bard (played by stand-out Jonah Priour) cowers in fear and plays his lute. When confronted after the fight by Krag and asked why he didn’t fight, Barand earnestly responds, “I was inspiring courage, helloooo”. This line made me die laughing as I am currently playing a Bard in my Pathfinder Campaign and I can totally sympathize. No one respects the Bard!

The dialogue is whip-smart, the cast is charming across the board, the costumes look fantastic and the creators and crew make excellent use of natural Southern California locales. I definitely look forward to seeing what improvements could be made with more funding for future seasons.

I spoke with the creators of Walking In Circles and got to get to know a little bit about the origins of the series and where they’re hoping the series will head in the future:

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Nerds in Babeland: I think I can already guess, but where did the idea for the series come from?

Walking In Circles: The idea came from years and years of playing Dungeons and Dragons. We always wanted to know what heroic adventurers would be like as real people and to take a look at something epic like slaying a dragon and break it down to where it was just a job. Like some people flip burgers, other people plunder ancient tombs and kill monsters.

NIB: Hah, I think I’d rather fight a dragon than work the drive through at McDonalds. How did you assemble the cast and who writes the show?WIC: We used CAZT casting. They run a pretty cool service where we get to throw up auditions, actors submit for them, and then they tape the auditions so we can go back later and review everything. And it’s free! James Rodehaver is the writer for the show. He’s a life-long nerd and almost life-long aspiring writer. This is the first project that he’s ever done that got through the first draft stage.

NIB: How do you finance the show?

WIC: The production was primarily funded by Adam Rady, James Rodehaver and Adam Cier. The crew contributed a lot of funding too. For example, our costume and prop designer bought the supplies he used. We were also fortunate enough to have a lot of costumes donated to the project. After production was over we started a fund raising effort on indiegogo.com to get money for advertising, marketing and distribution. Our families and friends were extremely generous and we were able to raise just over $3,600. We’ve set-up a PayPal donation option on the website to help with funding for season 2.

NIB: Where would you like to see the series go next?

WIC: Our current goal is to have season one be successful enough that a second season is possible. We have a lot of story to tell, we just need the means to do it. We’re looking for backing through corporate sponsorship and viewer donations. We’d also like to be able to sell merchandise to support the series.
We’d really like to be able to get to a point where we can pay our crew and actors for their hard work. Everyone involved with this project put a vast amount of effort and love into it and they did it for free. In fact, many of them ended up supporting the project with their own money.

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Visit http://www.walkingincirclestheseries.com/index.html for episode streaming, character sheets, cast/crew bios and hilarious behind the scenes specials like “Krag Kam”. I hope you’ll give this little series a chance. Role-players and newbies alike should enjoy the charming and attractive cast, witty dialogue and the energy of everyone involved.

With the plethora of web series out there right now, it’s difficult to find one that really captures your imagination. I, like so many others, watched a hilarious silent video for a group called the League of S.T.E.A.M. that reproduced the Ghostbusters, “we’re ready to believe you” commercial. Done in the classic 20’s black and white style, this commercial was gorgeously shot, fascinating to watch and made me laugh out loud. I soon discovered that the League had an entire webseries available and the commercial was simply a teaser for what was to come. As it turns out, I was late to the party. When I started becoming active in the Steampunk community in Los Angeles, I would hear mention of the “League” more often than not and when I hosted my first Steampunk happy hour, most of the League happily showed up for the party. While I was introduced to the lively bunch online, their story goes much further back and is grounded in live-performances. I was lucky enough to speak with a few members of the League recently and found out about their origins, how they journeyed to the web and about their plans for Season 2.

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Baron Andrew Von Fogel shared the charming story of how the League first came to be a little over 3 years ago. The Labyrinth of Jareth is a masquerade ball (that just celebrated its 11th year) and is a beacon to those in the Los Angeles area looking to make a splash with their one-of-a-kind costumes and mechanical inventions. It was there that Von Fogel first met Nick Baumann, his lovely wife Robin Blackburn and several of their friends. Apparently Blackburn herself was the catalyst for the formation of the League with her choice of costume for the evening.

Obsessed with Marie Antoinette and 18th century clothing, Blackburn wanted to add something special to her Labyrinth costume that year and she thought back to the ghosts in the Harry Potter films. “I loved the ghostly texture of their garments, and how that texture was applied to the different time periods of each ghost character. I was hooked and truly inspired by the detail of the 18th century and the use of texture to create an ethereal look.” Baumann quickly caught onto her idea and decided to join her as a ghost hunter and got a small group of friends together to create a group costume. They were the hit of the ball that year and attracted a lot of attention, including from Von Fogel. The newly-formed group quickly bonded over a love of Steampunk costumes and inventions and they found themselves making a regular appearance at the Labyrinth where they are still a highlight of the festivities every year. This year, two members of the League even got engaged on stage. So sweet!

The League started making public appearances all over Southern California and eventually, the whole country. Their live act became so popular that they decided to find a way to move beyond their geographical limitations. Von Fogel had just gotten out of art school and had the necessary equipment and desire to try making a webseries. They started small, filming “Monkey Business” in Griffith Park in five hours and editing the entire thing themselves. They put it up online and the response was overwhelmingly positive and thus the series was born. As a way to get new viewers hooked, the infamous Ghostbusters homage commercial was filmed and placed online. Von Fogel knew that using “pop-culture shorthand” was a great way to get the attention of anyone who had seen the 80s hit and it was a quick and easy entry to the series.

Post-production on the series is performed by League members and comrades which is impressive to say the least considering the incredibly high production value on the series, including some pretty impressive special effects. Von Fogel does the “color grading on all of our episodes, as well as a lot of the visual effects and compositing. A lot of these skills are self-taught, and others I learned while studying filmmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design. We’re also so thankful to have Russ Isler in our group – he’s a very talented visual effects animator, and his help has been invaluable for some of the more difficult effects shots!”

Season One of the League of S.T.E.A.M. contained seven hilarious episodes and even resulted in a spotlight appearance in a Panic at the Disco music video. When asked why she thought the League has become so popular, Blackburn, who plays Lady Potts in the series mused, “maybe it has to do with the “every-person” aspect of what we do. The characters are the common person with dreams and goals to make things better in their lives. And though they are constantly met with opposition, many times by their own doing, they get back on their feet and keep going. Or maybe the fans simply love all the cool props and costumes. Or maybe the fans can sense the League is a group of friends with a wild creative streak and an affinity for laughter, that we like to explore and share. We love what we do, so maybe that’s it.” As a fan of the League myself, I would have to agree with her on all of those points. The series and the group itself are wickedly funny, insanely creative and incredibly grateful for their success.

They have great plans for Season Two of their webseries and of special interest to our readers, Von Fogel announces that “in addition to some more detailed roles for Lady Potts, we’re happy to be adding some great new female characters to our cast, including Ellie Copperbottom – Co-founder of the Jr. League W.A.T.C.H; Katherine Blackmoore – zombie head-basher extraordinaire; and The Russian – cryptozoological researcher! One of the great things about all of the female characters in the League is that they’re generally smarter and more competent than the men are!”

Just this past weekend, the League reached their funding goal of $10,000 on Kickstarter with the help of their many fans. There’s still a bit more time left on the campaign though, so if you’d still like to donate, they are offering some fantastic incentive packages for donors until August 27th. Additional monies will help them add more locations, monsters and gadgets. I know I’ll be awaiting Season 2 with bated breath and I hope you’ll give these crazy kids a chance if you haven’t already.

DragonGem Productions is producing a new webseries called Posthuman. Currently on its fifth episode, the series is set in the future and follows Charlie Porter’s journey back to the place where he lost his life and his search to discover the mystery surrounding the “Meme” subculture. If you want to go in absolute order, there is a Prologue episode that is a sort of “mini-episode” addition to the plot. However, I’m not sure the introspection of the prologue monologue works. It’s set up to be a dialogue without the benefit of the second participant. Realistically, you could probably just skip it and dive right into the series itself.

Charlie is a haunted man, haunted by the voice of his client’s partner playing relentlessly in his head. He’s on a search to solve his assigned case, but he’s also trying to solve his own. The truth may lay in the ghetto, but is he ready to go back there? We’re given brief glimpses of Charlie’s past and some backstory as to what this world is now, but with the short episodes we’re just delving into the real plot of where this journey will take Charlie and what he’ll find along the way.

I actually did like the differing POVs and time periods of the series so far, as the audience got to experience parts of the story without knowing all the pieces yet. It creates a deeper sense of curiosity and makes the audience want to return for more. That’s the hook of a good series. Check out PostHuman at their site today! I’ll be tuning in to see how it all plays out for Charlie and the rest of the characters.

When the writers of the webseries “Free Advice” approached us to take a look at their episodes, I was curious. The series is based on the creators’ own experience running a free advice table on Santa Monica Beach in LA. With a wide range of characters telling their stories, the series has a potential for exploring fun and interesting topics. Plus, each episode is short and self-contained, so it’s a quick stop on your way around the web.

The official website is a bit lacking, since it’s imposed on the Blip.TV system. I was curious about more information concerning the series as well as the writers, but the website doesn’t give anything to satisfy those needs. Actually, from my own perspective, I’d skip over the official site and just head to the videos uploaded on YouTube to cut down on extra advertising and related video data.

If you’re in need of a quick video fix, this series will satisfy you. New episodes are set to be released monthly, so check back for those. And if you want to know more about the show, you can check out Emmett Loverde’s site or their Facebook page. I’m hoping to see them build up a larger library of episodes, as the experience passed a bit quickly.